Along the Covenant Trail - Against the current

Out our way, the streams and creeks tend to be gentle. Even the Milk and Marias rivers seem calm enough, but every year we hear of a few folk who drown in the Missouri. Currents can be strong in the big rivers and if you run afoul of them, you can get in trouble.

Crossing Beaver Creek after a flood when the bridge had been destroyed, Goliath and I noticed that, while shallow, the current was aggressive and you had to watch for tree limbs and other floating objects being swept downstream at a rapid pace.

Some folks I know who like to paddle around in canoes and kayaks, tell me that even seemingly placid water can have strong currents than can sweep you away if you are not careful. If you are paddling against the current, you may find your best efforts are not enough, or at the very least you will have to row or paddle twice as hard just to make any progress. The same is true in life.

As we explore the Covenant Trail, we see how the Tempter fooled the first humans into thinking they could replace God with self. Assuring them they were the "masters," he lured them into the devastating and destructive maelstrom of sin.

As we continue through Genesis, the events show us the growing distance between God and humanity, and the ever-increasing power of evil, as human beings are swept away. The sin of Adam and Eve - seeking to replace God with themselves - continues on in their descendants as illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel. Indeed, in them we see that the "current" or power of sin has become even stronger. The description of Cain's offering to God reflects a general carelessness, even indifference, while in contrast, Abel's offering shows careful thought and a desire to honor and respect the Lord. The issue is not so much substance as attitude, not what each offered but how it was offered. Cain's attitude demonstrates that he is careless in his relationship to God, while Abel is clearly very concerned to honor and respect the Lord. It is this carelesness that makes Cain's sacrifice almost insulting and therefore unacceptable.

Yet even so, God takes pity on Cain and lovingly tells him both why his offering is not suitable and how to correct it. But Cain is only concerned about Cain and he will not listen. Rather than admit and correct the errors of his ways, Cain instead chooses to resent his brother.

As you may recall, the word "sin" carries the meaning of "going in the wrong direction." The word "repentance" carries the meaning of "turning around," reversing course, and heading in the right direction. You can't get to Shelby on Highway 2 by heading east out of Havre; if you reach Malta, you have to recognize you went the wrong way and turn around! But sometimes, as in Cain's example, we become so stubborn and thick headed that we refuse to accept the truth and barrel on to North Dakota. Cain's pride and jealousy overwhelmed him to the point that instead of realizing his mistake and correcting it, he made it worse. Instead of an example, he saw his brother as competition, and he murdered him.

Humanity continued to get worse with each generation thereafter, for like our analogy of paddling against the current, the further we allow ourselves to be swept down river, the longer and harder it is paddle upstream.

As we continue our journey along the Trail we see the darkness becoming stronger with each generation as humanity drifts further and further away from God. Yes, there is still some good in people, but the seed of evil is there as well. We are all infected. This is illustrated in the great account of Noah's Ark. The whole human race is portrayed as seething with evil until only a few good people remain, namely Noah and his family. Now, it is a common human misunderstanding to assume that if we simply eliminate the bad people, we eliminate wickedness. Noah's story challenges that fallacy.

The whole human race and much of creation is wiped out, washed away in the Flood. The earth is cleansed, it is assumed, and only goodness remains. Ah, but not so. For the seeds of sin remain in even the best of us. Even Noah himself is not immune. Although Noah is the most righteous of human beings, he is still a human being. He quickly demonstrates his frailty, as do his children. Sin is still with us.

It becomes clear - and this is the point - that sin is now a human trait that has infected one and all. You can't eliminate evil by eliminating bad people unless you eliminate the entire human species. And that God will not do. Thus, in these first chapters, God lays out the situation for us; he shows the reality of our helplessness, and then announces the plan to deal with it. A new creation is about to begin, transforming the old one from the inside out. From this point on, the Covenant Trail becomes clearer, for now we are about to learn where the Trail leads. Ihe t will begin with the call of two unlikely people by the name of Abraham and Sarah.

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John Bruington and Goliath invite everyone to saddle up and ride the Covenant Trail in the coming weeks and months, and hopefully find encouragement in the discovery we are not wandering through the life blindly, but following a carefully laid out and blazed trail.